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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27479686">The Millennium Assassin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuzlDragon/pseuds/PuzlDragon'>PuzlDragon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Assassination Classroom, Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Assassination Attempt(s), Badass, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Class 3-E as Family (Assassination Classroom), Comedy, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Friendship, Humor, Jokes, M/M, Magic, Mutou Yuugi Needs a Hug, Protective Class 3-E (Assassination Classroom), Sad Mutou Yuugi, Team as Family, Yami no Game | Shadow Game</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:01:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,089</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27479686</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuzlDragon/pseuds/PuzlDragon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mutou Yuugi lacked confidence, and focus. He easily slid into class 3-E. In class 3-E he learned how to apply himself, how to have friends, and how to succeed. And how to be an assassin of his strange, superbeing teacher. But the disbanding of his classroom impacted him. So did the death of his lovable, annoying teacher, the press attention, and the new isolation.</p><p>  But then he completes the Millennium Puzzle. This is how Yuugi fights alongside the spirit of the puzzle. How the nameless king's assassin fights.</p><p>Alternate Summary: Yuugi is a badass baby with a KNIFE. No one knows how to react.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Atem &amp; Mutou Yuugi, Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Class 3-E &amp; Korosensei (Assassination Classroom), Class 3-E (Assassination Classroom) &amp; Other(s), Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler &amp; Mutou Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi &amp; Yami Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>113</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Isolation In A Full Room</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Yuugi sat at his desk in Domino high. It was English class. He used to pay attention in English class. But not anymore. He scratched another tic tac toe grid into his work book. It's lines dug heavily into the paper with a soft scritch. The deep lines shined eith extra graphite.</p><p>    He remembers when English class was different. When it wasn't at Domino High.It wa risqué, then. Back when it was taught by a seductress assassin. The exampes and problems that were overly sexual was funny. Akward, but funny. But that wasn't why it was a good class.</p><p>    Yuugi sighs. The air puffs out of his mouth lazily. Exhausted. Disinterested. He lifts his eyes up. Darts them around the room. He sees  individuals. Groups withh cliques, normal interests. People who don't know what it's like to fear for the end of the world.  What it's ike to face an impossible challenge. What it is to be a classified team. To be an assassin. He remembers what the world thinks of class E-3. His pencil stabs through the paper with a tear. Snaps on the soft underneath.</p><p>    Kidnap victims. Stockholme syndrome.</p><p>    What was the world kidding. Eating up lies the government fed them so they didn't have to face the truth. Face the fact that the government trained a bunch of teenagers to assassinate a target that went Mach 20. The fact that they, and assassins targeted, and injured those kids because they were a smiling, bizarre teacher's weak point. The fact that the class showed they could take down specalized government teams. The fact that those teens were the ones who finished what the gorvernment could not. And did it with a smile. The government pay out money for the bounty was in public record, thank you very much.</p><p>    Stockholme syndrome. Weak. Pitiful. Helpless. What a joke.</p><p>    Yuugi looked around at kids who knew nothing like what he experienced. Kids who he heard talking about those 'poor E-3 kids'. Yuugi kept his head down. They never questioned about the weird nerd in punk clothes. Just another kid whose family moved back to Domino City to be there for his grandpa. Yuugi kept his head down. Was quiet. Maybe he didn't keep his grades up. And, oh, that hurt. What would Koro-sensei think about his dropping grades? Karasuma? Bitch-sensai? What would his teammates think? They worked so hard to gain the top 50 seats at their prep school. To gain top marks in enterance exams. Korosensai moved in a parade formation faster than the eye could see to chant him on his way to the exams. Declared with pride his high results. The grinding of Yuugi's teeth popped in his ears. But how could he focus? Focus with these people around him? People who gossiped about him unaware. People who couldn't handle his bloodlust that he gardened lovingly for Koro-sensei's sake. When he was alone, without his team. Maybe mom was right it would get him away from the stares, and attention. But in New Domino City, Yuugi faced another challenge. Lonliness. What is a team member without their team?</p><p>    A bang echoed in front of him. His hand slipped to his waist. A smile curled onto his lips. He let his bloodlust show. He would take down any opponnet. He had faced bullies. Thugs. Assassins. Government forces. What could they do to him? Who could do anything to him?</p><p>    His hand grasped upon air. His bb-gun was gone. His stun gun he made with moe box. Gone. He patted his other leg. So was his anti-sensei knive. His real pocket knife. All gone. His heart rate spiked. But he kept his breathing calm. Grabbed his pen. Swipe, then drag down as they stumble. Hold over their eye. The eyes do in a pinch. He pulled his arm back.</p><p>    "Doodling again?" A voice rang out. Ms. Chono. Ms. Chono's voice rang out. "Out in the hall. Now!" Yuugi looked up. At his grumpy, but normal high school teacher. Glanced at the classmates staring at him. Civilian classmates. He gulped. To think he almost showed his bloodlust. How would his mom explain that to the school?</p><p>    He stood up without a word. His steps tapped on the tile floor. But his heart pounded.  He closed the classroom door behind him.  Leaned back against the wall. The outside showed an expensive garden. Concrete. Vending machines. He slid down to the tile floor. He remembered wooden floors. Wooden walls. Bullet holes. Tulip bulbs replanted by a contrite octopus being. Little details. Little details of a second home.</p><p>    What was a team member without a team? He pondered once again. What was an assassin without a target? What was a kid without a goal? He spiraled his pen around his fingers. It made little clicks upon his knuckles. Maybe Koro-sensei wanted him to use his second blade. But he missed his first.</p><p>    Later that day he finally emerged from school. He was late to leave. Yet another chewing out. He was used to it. He used to be chewed out at school, before. Before everything. Shy. No confidence in his abilities they said. And he always had problems focusing on school work. Yuugi trudged past on the sidewalk. The sun was already setting. The arrival of autumn. Firey blazes of light splayed across concrete. His small feet pattered upon it, sending shadows dancing.</p><p>    But Korosensei helped Yuugi. Yuugi was smart, he said. He just learned from using his hands. So Yuugi excelled in Karasuma-sensei's P.E./ combat classes. Koro-sensei made models, diagrams for the class. Some just for Yuugi. Bitch-sensei gave him a list of movies to watch as extra assignments. He was able to understand language better by listening to others use it.</p><p>    Yuugi missed E-3.</p><p>    But Yuugi wasn't at Kunugigaoka Junior High. Yuugi was at Domino High. With teachers that yelled. With bullies Yuugi couldn't fight, or risk showing his secret. With no friends. Well. That wasn't fair. Yuugi looked up as he passed several storefronts. Yuugi's reflection was lit with a halo of the sun. It wiggled like an underwater visage. Underwater fire. An impossible world.</p><p>    Yuugi had one friend. Anzu. Anzu had been Yuugi's friend when he was little. But then they both moved away. Anzu's family moved to the other side of the city. Shortly after, Yuugi's family moved to Tokyo for his dad's buisness. But, after everything, they moved back. Or, just his mother, and him did. They didn't see his dad much anymore. They couldn't risk it. For Yuugi.</p><p>    Everyone his dad worked with knew he had a kid at Kunugigaoka Junior High. Moving Yuugi, and mom to grandpa's was a last ditch, feeble effort to protect from reporters. It helped. But they all knew it wouldn't last long. Yuugi was just lucky there wasn't news footage of him like some of his classmates, like Hara, and Maehara. But Yuugi wasn't a fool. He knew this peace would not last. Eventually he would be outed as an 3-E assassin.</p><p>    Leaves crinkled under his feet as he approached his home. He wiped his feet on the straw mat before battling with the creaky door. It swung open with a groan, but shut with a loud bang. It did that no matter how soft you close it. It rattled his hyperactive awareness each time. Yuugi stopped at the genkan. He slowly shuffled out of his untied red sneakers. He just didn't have energy.</p><p>    The thing was, he wasn't sure how to prepare himself for that day. In the past, he tackled everything as part of a group. But he no longer had one. Who did he have? Grandpa. But there wasn't much he could physically do at his age. Mom, and Dad were always working. Anzu was his friend, but she was always busy at dance practice. And she made some strong statements about class E-3. Yuugi just wasn't sure how to tell her. If he could.</p><p>    So Yuugi did what he usually did nowdays. He went upstairs, and dug out out two boxes. One was solid gold with a questionable acquisition history from his grandfather. The second was filled with classified BB-gun pellets, some smoke bombs, a couple of tazers, and some also classified bendy knives.</p><p>    And held Koro-sensei's ten thousand page yearbook.</p><p>    Yuugi took a seat as he flipped it open. Glossy pages filled with smiles. He flipped it rapidly, until he found the advice pages. And he sat, doing a mysterious golden puzzle idly as he read words from a cherished, but aggravating departed teacher. Maybe one of them would show him the path to some new friends. Friends he could trust. Friends he could rely on. Friends who could rely on him. A new team, for the challenges a retired assassin faces.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. New Bonds, and A Catalyst</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, I put this scene out of order. I chose this manner of the scene for a reason. My way of developing their relationship, and interactions. Please enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Perhaps it was out of need. Perhaps it was Grandpa taunting he wouldn't ever finish the puzzle.Maybe it was because he couldn't take anything implicating from 3-E to Domino High. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. What mattered is that Yuugi started taking the puzzle to school again.</p><p><br/>    Which led to Events. Capital E. He wonders if Bitch-sensei would be proud of how he started meme-ing, and joking in English. Maybe she would just call him a little turd again. She was such a tsundere. Good old Bitch-sensei.</p><p>    So Yuugi was at lunch, and declined the invitation to play basketball. He did not want to explain how he could free-run, parkour, and generally was above normal teenager physical abilities. It was very hard faking bad coordination in P.E. class. Especially while being screamed at for it. He wonders how Kayano could tolerate being undercover a whole year. Yuugi was one more shout away from doing something be shouldn't. Something he really shouldn't.</p><p>    So he sat there. Building a card castle. No one wanted to interrupt or play that. And he enjoyed it. Just keep your head down Yuugi. Just keep his head down.</p><p><br/>    But then he remembered the puzzle.</p><p><br/>    The shiny, mysterious thing it was. So he got it out. He fiddled with it. The solid weight of real gold in his hand. How strangely warm it always was. The rasping sound a hollow piece made when he ran his finger over it.</p><p><br/>    Then Anzu came in.</p><p><br/>    And told him about how the boys were looking up the girls' skirts. Yuugi remembered how he was part of a group piloting a little toy car to get girls underwear shots. He kept his mouth shut. Somehow Anzu was scarier than Koro-sensei. Mostly because the worst the latter did was trim eyebrows, restyle their hair, and give extra homework. Maybe he went Mach 20, and could reabsorb bullets. But he also cried when they made up stories about sick siblings. Dear Koro-sensei. You contradicting, lovable annoyance.</p><p><br/>    Yuugi kept his mouth shut under risk of Anzu's wrath. But he might play basketball next time. Just maybe.</p><p><br/>    "What are you thinking of?" Anzu asked suspiciously. Oh no. Yuugi could tell he was blushing.</p><p><br/>    "Nothing!"</p><p><br/>    "Rigghhhhhttt," Anzu drawled. Avert civilian suspicion. Revert civilian suspicion.</p><p><br/>    "What's that?" She chimed. Perfect opening.</p><p><br/>    "Oh, it's a secret! But I'll tell you if you don't tell anyone else." Anzu hummed in response. Yuugi didn't really keep it from everyone. All of class 3-E knew. But it was important that Yuugi's probably illegal ancient artifact didn't get out. And it felt good. Trusting someone with something again. "It's something that you see, but something that you cannot see."</p><p><br/>    "Something you see, but can't see?" Anzu's voice was ladened with confusion. Yuugi pulled the top of the box. Many more gold pieces glittered with their reveal. Suddenly, the puzzle box was snatched from his hands. It flashed in the light with it's swift movements. Yuugi tensed his muscles, ready to jump. To snatch. To hit.</p><p><br/>    But he recognized the hand. The voice.</p><p><br/>    "What are you talking about, Yuugi? A treasure?" Honda said.</p><p><br/>    "Something you can see, but haven't seen before?"Jounouchi mimicked.</p><p><br/>    "You win the prize for creepy!" Honda declared. Yuugi wondered how creepy they would find them if they knew the truth.</p><p> </p><p>    Honda, and Jounouchi immediately started passing it back, and forth. Yuugi acts like he can't reach it, trying not to show his training, and parkour skills. It feels a little pathetic, using only half of his abilities. Jounouchi stops  juggling the shiny box in his hand. Up, and down. Up, and down. It shined with each bounce. A tiny pulsing light.</p><p>    "Geez, only a girl would care about a box! Watching you really makes me sick! So, Mutou Yuugi," Jounouchi stops to lean into Yuugi's space, "I'm gonna teach you how to be a man!" Yuugi watches the display. He can't tell if it makes him feel more at home. Or home sick.</p><p>    Koro-sensei's high and mighty declarations they will never be able to kill him. Terasaka's rough friendship. Rio, and Karma's teasing. Yuugi wonders what Jounouchi would say if he told Jounouchi that Yuugi considers him a friend. Terasaka would be passive-aggressive about it. Maybe high, and mighty. Rio would act silly, and perhaps passive aggressive. Karma would be...Karma. But Jounouchi? Yuugi doesn't know.</p><p>    Jounouchi clearly cares enough to give Yuugi a hard time. But he isn't like the big five. He doesn't give crap like Asono did. And he is no Takoaka. A teaser. A laze. Someone lost lashing outwards,and inwards. That is Jounouchi Katsuya. What he is not, is a bully getting off on power. Maybe Jounouchi, and Honda weren't full friends. But they were somewhat one. And that was good enough to Yuugi.</p><p>    "Fight me for it, if you want it back! Come at me like a man!" Honda snickers by Jounouchi. The line Yuugi cannot cross. The line Yuugi cannot cross unless he has a target. And Jounouchi is no target.</p><p>    "I hate violence!" Yuugi screeches instead. Even his own ears ring. Yuugi does hate violence. It reminds him of his time at his assassin classroom. He hates how he is more powerful than others around him. How civilians are vulnerable in his sharp fangs. Remembers of an old man accidentally being hurt. Being targeted by assassins. Governmental agents. He hates how it reminds him of Kayano almost dying. Of Koro-sensei actually dying.</p><p>    "I don't want to fight," Yuugi repeats.</p><p>    "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Jounouchi's tenor rings out. He stuffs his index fingers in his ears, ruffled hair bunched between his fists. "Why is your voice so high pitched? You have no guts!"</p><p>    "Anyway, please give it back," Yuugi finishes.</p><p> </p><p>    "No way!" Honda says.</p><p>    "What's in here anyway?"</p><p>    "What does that matter?" Anzu shoots back. "Give it back to Yuugi!"</p><p>    "You can look but please don't lose anything!" Yuugi really doesn't know what would happen to one of his treasures. Especially not the only one he can take in public.</p><p>    "How dumb," Jounouchi sighs, tossing it back to Honda. Then a flash of pink swallows the shimmer of gold.</p><p>    "If you think it's dumb, give it back to Yuugi!" Anzu berates. She looks fed up with the boys. Yuugi doesn't think she understands the relationship developed from teasing. Though Yuugi understands a lot of relationships others do not. Like assassin, and target. But he is grateful for his puzzle. He thanks her sincerely for returning it.</p><p>    "Mazaki!" The two boys cry, as they run out the door. Their footsteps are a heavy drum roll upon the tile.</p><p>    "Get out of here! Bullies that pick on little kids are what's dumb!" Ouch. Yuugi isn't sure what he can say to that. So he keeps quiet. Both the height comment, and the idea he needs protecting. He wonders, for the billionth time, what she would think. Think of Yuugi whooping the ass of government special teams. Or assassins. Or general thugs.</p><p>    But Yuugi lets it drop. He always does, nowadays. Part of keeping his head down. Let the attention roll over him, is what Kayano said. Keep his head down. Draw attention to others. Seem harmless.</p><p>    "Wow, Anzu! One word from you, and they ran away!" Is what Yuugi says instead.</p><p>    "Their heads swell if you don't knock them down once in a while. You need to be tougher, Yuugi." Tough. Like an assassin? Yuugi tries not to laugh.</p><p>    "It's something special right? So what is it? Something that you can see, but haven't seen before?" Anzu adds on. She doodles her finger across the smooth desk.</p><p>    "That's right. You haven't seen this yet, Anzu. If you promise to keep it a secret, I'll show you." And Yuugi couldn't help the shy pride in his voice. It was a while since he has shown something he was proud of. A long time.</p><p>    "Wow! It's so pretty! Sparkling gold! Are these pieces of something? All broken up..." Anzu is dazzled by the shimmering metal. She picks up the pieces all together, then lets them fall like a waterfall. The pieces sound like a windchime as they tumble into the box.</p><p>    "It's a puzzle!" Yuugi proclaims with glee. It feels good to give someone one of his secrets, to let them cradle it in their tender palms. He relishes it. "I've never finished before, so..."</p><p>    "So it's something you can see, but haven't seen before?" Anzu finishes.</p><p>    "Yeah! My family runs a game store, right? We sell unusual games from around the world.." Yuugi trails off into an explanation of finding the puzzle. It's false. Partially. His grandpa got this on one his travels, and tucked it away. Like grandpa would sell a treasure he almost died for. An illegal treasure snatched from a grave. Yuugi doesn't want to out his grandpa as a tomb raider. Or him be arrested. And he wants to keep his treasure. Sooooo...</p><p>    "This puzzle is a memento of my grandpa. So I like it especially," Yuugi finishes.</p><p>    "Your grandpa died, Yuugi?!?!" Yuugi doesn't know how she got that. But he lets her sit with that. For the height comment. Maybe he spent too much time with Karma. So what?</p><p>    "See, there's these hieroglyphs carved around the box. I bet they say something like this: "Whoever solves this puzzle shall be granted one wish! You know what I mean." The hieroglyphs do not say that. They talk about shadow games. Which has to do with magic. And magic can influence things. Listen, weirder things have happened in Yuugi's life than magical shadow wishes.</p><p>    Can Yuugi explain tentacle monster superbeings, and his weird education changing his world view? No. No he cannot.So. He can just sound childish. Helps his innocent persona. Once again, bitterness tries to wiggle into his heart. He fights it back ruthlessly. He is sharing a precious thing. With a friend. He is talking with a friend again. His mind can shut up. Realizing he spent time in his own head, he speaks up.</p><p>    "Ha ha, maybe I'm dreaming. Like the dragon balls," Yuugi adds on. Yuugi laughs again. He lets his face turn sheepish. Be like Kayano. Make good memories. And don't forget your role. "Are you laughing at me? That look? I've only told you, Anzu. Don't tell on me. This is a secret..."</p><p>    "I get it Yuugi! Trust me!" Anzu chimes back. Yuugi's heart warms. It feels nice to have a friend reach out towards him.</p><p>    "But this puzzle is major hard," Yuugi whines. "I've been working on it for eight years, and I've never solved it! Kind of depressing." It would have been more depressing if he didn't get support from class E-3. But the lack of support was slowing his progress. A bummer.</p><p>    "Don't give up, Yuugi! Your heart is in it!" Yuugi looks at her with marvel. His heart in it. He put his heart into things, once. Remembers putting his heart into his studies. Into his assassination attempts. His saving attempts. His first blade. His second. Yes, Yuugi knows how to put his heart into a goal.</p><p>    "Yup! I'll do my best!" Yuugi can't help if he bellows it out. He is so glad. So glad for someone to see his heart, to believe in it.</p><p>    "So, what is it? Your wish?"</p><p>    "No way!" Yuugi winks. "That is absolutely, positively secret!" Thankful he may be. But Anzu can't be told he is wishing to experience class E-3 again. As silly, and impossible as that sounds. Another team. Another target. Another place to put his heart. Aim his bloodlust.</p><p>    "Super top secret! Sealed for vacuum-storage!" Yuugi finishes with a smile.</p><p>     He was unaware of what transpired elsewhere.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Deception, A Dervish, A Loss (Of One's Self)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I was debating posting this, or reworking it. Yuugi snaps after a year of keeping quiet, and acting dumb. Feelign helpless, and seeing friends hurt. He goes feral. Feral boy. But this won't be the end of this Ushio issue, trust me!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Yuugi felt it was a nice day. He actually bonded with another person, shared a fairly innocuous secret. Had some weird passive aggressive bonding from Jounouchi. I mean, Terasaka, Nakamura, and Karma had dealt worse. It hardly bothered him. It felt nice, being in someone's sights for non-class 3-E reasons. He felt energized! He could work on his glimmering puzzle, and try another shot at Koro-sensei's mountain of an advice book. That ridiculous man. It was the size of Yuugi's torso.</p><p>    But then the spiral started. He doesn't know why, but it began when he walked out of school. When Ushio Tetsu approached him.</p><p>    "You're Yuugi, aren't you?" The gigantic teenager said. He was near seven feet easily. Not even Karma with his sudden growth spurt could reach this pillar of a guy. His hair framed his face in a net of shady curls. Slick in the setting sun like an oil slick. Like thorny vines. He clearly needed to lighten up a little.</p><p>    "Yes?" Something didn't sit right in his gut. He didn't have class with him. Had no reason to be called out, in fact. Yuugi had made certain of it. He was the quiet boy who sat day dreaming in class, neither flunking nor excelling. Focusing on his games rather than extracurriculars. Fantisizer, pacifist, aimless little Yuugi. But that wasn't who Yuugi used to be. He felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck. Remembered news cameras being shoved in his face. Slanderings splayed across television screens. Being under constant superveillence.</p><p>    Was Yuugi finally discovered? But he couldn't show that. Breathe in. Breathe out. Steady. Slow. Felt his heart's pounding steadying closer to normal. An assassin does not show his true face. Does not reveal himself.</p><p>    Breathe in.</p><p>    Breathe out.</p><p>    "I'm Ushio the hall monitor. I want to ask you something." Yuugi's legs tensed. To jump. To run. To do what he must.</p><p>    "Are you being bullied by certain students in class?" Ushio's deep voice drops on Yuugi on a bomb. He struggles to even reply, staccato stuttering resounding from his mouth like tap dancing.</p><p>    "Whaaaaa? Nothing like that happens to me." Where did someone get that idea? Sure he gets a few odd looks...a little ribbing for being so 'useless' at P.E. but...he does that on purpose. Welcomes it. Let him seem harmless, and weak. He struggles not to burst out into laughter. It trembles his skeleton from the inside out. His clothes flutter like leaves in autumn. Like Yuugi couldn't handle a bully trying to come for his lunch money. Bullies can't scare him. Not even real assassins, Government special forces agent, or superbeings could anymore.</p><p>    "Hold on! Victims often defend their attackers!" What? Like everyone claimed happened with class 3-E, and Koro-sensei? "I've been investigating!" Ushio sounds so adamant. Clearly, he's bad at it. Yuugi tries not to shake his head.</p><p>    "He he he! You can stop worrying, Yuugi! I'll be your bodyguard from now on!" Ushio shouts. He claps his giant hands on Yuugi's shoulders. Ugh. Oh, great. That's what this was. And Ushio even has the terrible hyena laugh of someone with bad intentions. If Yuugi had stopped being on so high alert, he would have smelled the skeeviness. Jeez. Yuugi should know better. And like he needs a bodyguard. He can, and has, taken out special forces soldiers in a minute.</p><p>    "There's really nothing going on...so...bye!" Yuugi breaks into full out free-running. Damn the consequences. He has no idea how to stay in that situation without either laughing his ass off, or insulting that skeevy jerk.</p><p>    As he darts to his bus stop, he wonders why he's such a danger magnet. But Yuugi wishes it ended there. How he wishes. But it does not.</p><p>    Because while Yuugi sits at home, fiddling with his puzzle and grateful his secret isn't out, Ushio plots. The very next day, a smirking, hulking almost-man that Ushio is corners Yuugi. Makes him follow him behind the school. Yuugi isn't too concerned. Alert. Watchful. But not concerned. If it comes down to a fight between just Ushio, and him, Yuugi will win. Takes one suplex or so. Ushio doesn't know that, so Yuugi keeps hunkered down, and quiet. But it's worse than that. So much worse.</p><p>    Because eight giants of teens - Ushio's lackies - are circled around the sprawled out frames of Jounouchi, and Honda. And red is written upon the wall in spatters. Groans echo. Little feeble twitches of two tough men. Like butterfly wings. Yuugi feels a yell erupt from his mouth. Not of fear. No. He turns around to Ushio. This is not a skeevy man. This is an A class tactic. A tactic of 2.0. A tactic of Takaoka. A tactic only those filled with pure disregard for human life. His eyes fill with red. Red walls. Red blood. A heart beat pulsing in his ears.</p><p>    "Yuugi." It's but a croak. It cuts through his bloodlust like a knife in hot butter. He looks up to see the swollen eyes of Jounouchi. Even then, his eyes are flinty with betrayal. With hatred. Yuugi feels it in his very core.</p><p>    "Yuugi. You bastard. Are you satisfied?"</p><p>    "No!" It rips from his throat in the harshest scream Yuugi has ever heard. "I never asked for this!"</p><p>    "Hmph. Whatever. This is your chance to get back at them, isn't it?" Ushio kicks Jounouchi's ribs. Jounouchi grunts lowly. Can't help the flinch that travels his whole body, even when gritting his teeth. "Kick them! Hit them back a little!" Yuugi jumps in front of the two prone boys.</p><p>    "No! They're my friends!"</p><p>    "Hmmph. Whatever." Ushio snatches Yuugi's collar. "Just know you owe me for bodyguard services." Like Takaoka. Just like Takaoka. Nice until he can hurt someone.</p><p>    There's that pounding again. Red. Red. Red.</p><p>    Yuugi's legs.</p><p>    Ushio's throat.</p><p>    A triangle choke. Yuugi got Nagisa to teach him. After that show between Karma, and Nagisa.</p><p>    Ushio's choking.</p><p>    Hands are grabbing at Yuugi. Dozens of hands. Trying to rip him off. Punching him. Tearing at his hair. Goons yelling. Yuugi doesn't care. Yuugi sees red. Red. Red. Red bloodlust. Like knives in his lungs. Like ice in his veins. Ushio chokes. The wave shakes. Yuugi hangs on. The wave crests. Yuugi rides it. The wave breaks. Yuuhi follows the unconscious Ushio to the ground.</p><p>    But Yuugi doesn't stop there. He pounces. Pounces even though the ground shakes from the fallen giant. He snatches a 'hidden' knife from Ushio's jacket. Amateur. It was obvious to the eye. And he hadn't even used it when Yuugi choked him.</p><p>    Yuugi pounces. Whirls around like a devil. A dervish. Of screaming blade, and spiked hair. Red. Red. Red, and a whistling blade. Drool drips from his mouth. A shriek. Blood curdling in his veins. A bloodlust storm. Everything Koro-sesei didn't want him to be.</p><p>    "Don't touch me, or my friends again!" Yuugi roars. And they run. Run, run, run. The lackies don't know what to do without orders. Don't know what to do with true blood lust. To do with concentrated death. They run. Feet stomping across pavement. A drumming fighting against the pounding in Yuugi's ears. They shout, yell. Frightened little deers shaking in their fright.</p><p>    Silence.</p><p>    Their absence leaves silence.</p><p>    His ears ring.</p><p>    He whirls around. Again. And again.</p><p>    Nothing. There is nothing.</p><p>    A crack rings out.</p><p>    Yuugi's knees hurt.</p><p>    Oh. Oh. He's on his knees. </p><p>    He pants. Air forces itself violently from his lungs. Each breath a kick to his stomach.</p><p>    A clang. The ching of metal. Sparks fly. The knife against concrete.</p><p>    He pants.</p><p>    "What." It is soft. But pierces through the silence. Yuugi's head jerks up.</p><p>    Jounouchi. Jounouchi's shocked eyes, framed by puffed bruises. Pupils the size of sand. The whites of his eyes big reflecting orbs. An unconcious Honda is slumped upon his chest.</p><p>    "What the fuck." A feeble, broken thing. Suddenly energy finds Yuugi all at once.</p><p>    "Jounouchi! Honda! Are you okay?!" Yuugi's knees hit the ground once again. Koro-sensei, and Karasuma Sensei would be worried for that one. Losing control to his bloodlust. Letting himself get injured without dodging. Injuring his own knees. But this is his fault. Jounouchi, and Honda are hurt far worse than him.</p><p>    "What. Wh-What. What the <em>actual</em> fuck. Who replaced you, Mutou? Are you even? Ha. Ha!" Jounouchi laughs hysterically. He then starts mumbling under his breath.</p><p>    "It's me Jounouchi! I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm sorry this happened. I'm. I'm just so sorry. Do I need to call an ambulence? I- I can get the nurse!" Honestly, Yuugi is still used to a giant, super-speedy superbeing magically healing injuries. He isn't entirely sure how to deal with someone beat to a pulp. Oh, hell! What if they have broken bones?</p><p>    All his fault. It's all his fault. He let Ushio gt the drop on him. On them.<br/>    Yuugi just drags everyone down.<br/>    His fault.<br/>    They're hurt.<br/>    Because Yuugi.<br/>    Red. Red on the wall.<br/>    Everything just gets narrower. Smaller, smaller, smaller. Everything starts turning gray. There is a high-pitched, reedy sound. His own. Then the world starts moving. He's being shaked.</p><p>    "Hey! Hey! Hey, wake up! Are you even the same person!?! What the fuck!" Then it's tight. Yuugi is being squished. Squished small, against something broad, and warm. A hug. It's Jounouchi. Jounouchi is hugging him. Jounouchi is bleeding, and can't see out of one swelled eye. And an unconscious Honda is now sprawled on his lap. Then a splayed hand is ruffling Yuugi's hair. And he's hugging Yuugi. Okay then.</p><p>    "We're okay, right, little buddy? We're okay. It's gonna be okay. What the fuck, geez."</p><p>    They miss first period. Drag themselves to the nurse by second. Before leaving, Yuugi places the knife in a crack in the cement. The handle sticks straight up, blade glinting against the sweltering sky. It is right next to Ushio's turned (and bruised) face. Ushio will open his eyes to it.</p><p>    Maybe Yuugi's spent too much time with Karma.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Emotional Rollercoaster, and New Found Treasures</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Yuugi isn't honestly sure what to do that day. He steals furitive glances to Jounouchi, and a now concious Honda. They whisper constantly, a rattled, shaking Jounouchi nodding. A possibly concussed Honda shaking his head, and growling back.</p><p>   Yuugi doesn't pay attention to class. He calmly overhears. 'Calmly.' He might appear normal, but he is frazzled. Frazzled from the fight. Frazzled from fear. Bluff. He must bluff. No assassin lets nerves get to them. So he tucks it down with a smile as he strains for their whispers.</p><p>    Bluffing doesn't mean he listens to class.</p><p>     When called on, he stutters out the wrong paragraph. In the wrong book. An exile to hallway is in order. Ms. Cho takes no prisoners.</p><p>    Out in the hallway, he cannot hear Honda's shocked questions. The sunlight streams into his eyes. He tilts his head. His bangs flop into his sight. It doesn't do much. Yuugi scatters his eyes in avoidance. There is a blue bird out the hallway window. A feathery drop of clear skies. It carefully builds its nest. </p><p>    Jounouchi's panicked replays. Who would they go to with these questions? About where he learned his fighting. About what kind of person he was. The bird flitters back, and forth. Little brown sticks rustle together. Leaves, crinkling. A green mass of string. Yuugi breathes out.</p><p>     Would they dig into his past life? It wouldn't take much searching to show he went to Kunugigaoka. From there, class 3-E was obvious. And not just Jounouchi, and Honda. But sixteen opponents. Sixteen. Ushio, and his gang would be eager for any dirt on him.</p><p>    A cat pounces on the bird. It doesn't survive.<br/>    Later, Yuugi trudges his way home. Each step sinks him into the rut of anxiety that has been his home since reporters first 'interviewed' class 3-E.</p><p>    When he gets home, he grabs the green, rubber Anti-KoroSensei knife. He shuts his blinds from the world. And peering eyes. In the soft lamplight, he guides himself through knifework steps that Mr. Karasuma taught them. Lets his bloodlust, his focus shine clear for just those few minutes. </p><p>    A thrust forward. A slash coming back. A rubber blade whistling through air. Again. And again. And again.</p><p>    It brings back memories. When things were, ironically, clearer. To when a super-being who looked like an octupus was his teacher/assassin who 'threatened' to blow up the world.</p><p>    Oh, the irony. </p><p>    Yet, high school was a mess. Politics of a social loner. The weight of disgusing parts of himself. The parts wanting to excell. The parts gunning for the best. Trying to keep his head down, in the average clump just so no one looked at his academic records. Letting bullies stomp on him. And Yuugi slipped up.</p><p>    Big time.</p><p>    A forceful thrust foward. Two sloppy slashes. Footwork. Must concentrate on footwork.</p><p>    He didn't even just show spine, or beat a bully up. He flipped his shit in front of eighteen people. Let his bloodlust control him.</p><p>    Should he prepare his grandpa? His parents? Let them know he blew it. Couldn't even keep his head down for their sake. For his sake. He was worthless before class E-3. And class E-3, Korosensei...somehow everything shined around him. But by himself Yuugi was back to screwing up. He squeezes his eyes. His breathing is too ragged. He can't even complete the exercises. Worthless.</p><p>    Wet drops patter down. Soak into the blue carpet. A ragged sound erupts from Yuugi's throat. A sob. He's sobbing. This won't do. He guides his breathes deep in his chest, the way Bitch-Sensei taught him when she found him in a panic attack before a quiz. Deep breath in. Lets his chest expand. And holds it. Holds it until it starts to burn. Lets it escape slowly. Feels the air winding its trail through his throat.</p><p>    Breath in. Hold. Breath out. Again. And again. And again.</p><p>    Bitch-sensei's voice lingering in his ears.<br/>    "I practiced these breathing exercises, you know. I trained myself in it. It became second nature. I had to do it each time I killed. Until I didn't have to. Then it came just as the breathing did. Let's hope you never have to get there, kid."</p><p>    And Yuugi used these exercises when he sobbed over a dying Korosensei, too. Maybe he would have died anyway. Maybe they gave him a peaceful death. One he could look forward to. But Yuugi still cried like a baby. And he saw Bitch-sensei deep breathe, too. Maybe the class gave her something back. He didn't know.</p><p>    Wouldn't she hate that?</p><p>    And soon enough, Yuugi is laughing chuckling through his sobs. Like a crazy man. The woman raised as a honeypot assassin. Trained in languages, in seduction, in knives. The eccentric, goofy woman underneath. Learning something from her time with snot-nosed brats. Oh, she probably hated it.</p><p>    Class E-3 made everything improve. If only the world could see it that way.</p><p>    Yuugi snatches a tissue, wipes the gunk off his face. Maybe he couldn't get through his daily exercises. Maybe he forgot to grab his homework assaignments for tonight. Maybe he didn't know what he was going to do about Ushio, and his gang.</p><p>    But he is cheered by his memories. The emotional earthquake that rumbled for the day has stopped. He can quiet the remaining anxiety with a nice activity: his puzzle. His puzzle has been a constant since he was eight. Korosensei even dedicated part of Yuugi's advice book to puzzlesolving techniques. So Yuugi settles his knife in clear view on the tan desk. A reminder. A reminder that an assassin doesn't miss their goal.</p><p>    And his current goal? The puzzle.</p><p>    The metal, despite its age, is shiny, and smooth. It twinkles in his eyesight. A beacon. A soother. His admitted security blanket. Maybe, he hopes still that the puzzle is magic. His idle hopes were renewed when a literal superbeing became his teacher. Why couldn't anything happen now? Suprisngly, this was Karma's view, too.</p><p>    'If we get the octupus blowing up the moon, and a self-willed moe machine, why not some magic?' Of course, that got Karma ruffling Yuugi's hair while demanding he gets one of the genie wishes 'In return for future monetary support for mom &amp; pop shops! Like your grandfather's! And I get a genie wish? Just fair right?' Yuugi shakes his head as he smiles.</p><p>    But his smile fades. It isn't safe for class E-3 to meet. The media are swarming. Apparently, they lurk outside the houses of anyone with a last name from E-3. The reason his parents relocated Yuugi in the first place. He doesn't know when he gets to see anyone again. Not even their plan to clean up the old schoolhouse can even work. The media is vultures around the whole mountain it is on. Tears prick at Yuugi's eyes again. Ready for another go.</p><p>    He shakes his head. Tries to focus on the smooth metal. The shimmers look like stars in his tear-blurry eyes. And somehow - the pieces he has been fighting for twenty minutes finally clicks. It slots into place quietly. Yuugi sightlessly grabs another. Feels its sharp corners. And one part of the puzzles seems to shine more. And indeed, it's right where it fits. Again, and again, Yuugi fumbles the puzzle together as lonely tears run down his cheeks.</p><p>    Then, somehow, he's done it.<br/>    An inverted pyramid hangs in his hands. Just one piece missing, the eye of horus.</p><p>    "When I fit the last piece in, it's done!"</p><p>    Yuugi fumbles for the piece. He tries to push his sadness down as he tries to savor the moment. This is momentous! The first person in thousands of years to solve this puzzle! Maybe he can't see the class. But when he does see them, he can show them this!</p><p>    His fingers feel smooth planes. The inturned corners of a box. Cold metal, containing nothing.</p><p>    He jerks his head. The piece isn't in his puzzle box. It's fine! Maybe it's on the desk - no. Maybe he dropped it? His head flops under the desk so fast his neck pangs. His chair jerms with a creak. He clatters his backpack innards on the floor.</p><p>    No. No. No. No.</p><p>    He pulls strands of hair between his fingers. Hairspray rubs off on his hands. He lets the hot pressure on his skull ground him. How could he lose the most identifiable piece? The big giant eye of Horus one? He tastes bile. He feels pressure at his irritated eyes. He feels his chest shake. He knows no breathing exercise will help him. Five thousand year puzzle. </p><p>    And.</p><p>    He.</p><p>    Lost.</p><p>    It.</p><p> </p><p>    Screwup. It's the only word for him. He wrenches his hair harder. Lets his curls tangle in his fingers like the thoughts in his head.</p><p>    "I'll never get my wish!" No friends, no goals in life other to stay hidden, no puzzle, and no magic wish.</p><p>    He doesn't turn to look when the door creaks open. He doesn't want to see. Doesn't want to see anyone. Anything.</p><p>    "Yuugi?" Oh, fuck. He especially doesn't want to see Gramps. How was Yuugi going to tell him that he lost the valuable, irreplacable puzzle that he found, and gifted Yuugi?</p><p>    "Woah! I'm amazed! You finished the Millenium Puzzle!"</p><p>    "No...I couldn't finish it after all, grandpa..." He keeps his eyes towards the wall. He can't tolerate seeing Gramps's dissapointment.</p><p>    "Let's see." Gramps picks the puzzle up out of the corner of Yuugi's sight. Then Yuugi hears his deep belly laugh.</p><p>    "Yuugi, you've poured your heart into this puzzle for the last eight years. You should have more faith!"</p><p>    "Huh?" Gramps might categorize as a weirdo, but what on earth is he talking about?</p><p>    "Your wish will be granted!" Gramps holds out a fist. His smile is the same one he wears when he beats his friends at Go. He opens his hand quickly, shimmering gold revealed.</p><p>    "Grandpa!" Yuugi should probably not full force tackle his grandfather. He sort of...does it anyway.</p><p>    "Thank you! You found it for me!" He yells. Gramps grunts.</p><p>    "Here, now. Yuugi. I wasn't the one who found it."</p><p>    "Huh?"</p><p>    "A friend of yours came by. He asked me to give that to you. Even though it wasn't raining, he was soaking wet."</p><p>    Well, that explains why the puzzle piece is wet. Sort of. But a friend? All his friends are class 3-E from Tokyo. And they either would sneak in, or not come at all to avoid the press. Or just are in Tokyo. Not even Anzu has come over. It's too much of a risk she might see something Kunugioka related. It's bizarre. But this isn't a puzzle he can solve. Even after completeing a millennia old one.</p><p>    'Thank you.' He sends out to whoever it was. It's sincere. Maybe he can thank them in person, soon. Behind him he hears a rustle. He can tell it's from his backpack. His gramps must be putting something inside it. Maybe he called, and got the homework Yuugi forgot? Whatever it is, Yuugi will check later. This is puzzle time!</p><p>    "Good night, Yuugi."</p><p>    "Thank you, Grandpa! Goodnight."</p><p>    He turns back around to the shining metal. The strangely warm gold in his hand. He's going to do it. He's finally going to complete Millennium Puzzle! The chink as it slides into place echoes. Then the puzzle seems to shine all the brighter. It's Eye of Horus twinkles. And it gets even brighter, and brighter.</p><p>    Next thing Yuugi knows, he wakes up in bed the next morning. The puzzle lays gleaming on the desk. Right next to his green knife. He must have passed out from that emotional rollercoaster. Perhaps he doesn't know what the day will hold. But he just completed something no one else has for three millennia. An assassin completes his goals. He can accomplish anything. Korosensei taught him that.</p><p>  Yuugi was unaware of the emails in his mailbox.</p>
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